Match results/Events info

Interclub (Abbey Cross) match/outing

Beggars Hall

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In a tight finish Abbey Cross took the day with 62 points to Bishop's Stortford's 58. 1st Bill Beeston 35lbs 5oz 2nd Ray Gibson 35lbs 1oz 3rd John Carter 18lbs 6oz 4th Peter Green 8lbs 15oz

Phil's day Hi all, the Weds club fished its monthly interclub against Abbey Cross at Beggars Hall. It was always going to be tough for most and good for a very few and it fished pretty much as expected. I drew peg 14 it's a very little used peg so I already knew what laid in store for me. I set up for silvers instead of carp and fished most of my day for them. I kept busy for most of the day but knew I would not be able to compete with the odd 4 or 5 good pegs. I weighed in with 2lbs 13oz which put me about 7th 1st Bill Beeston with 35lbs 5oz, 2nd Ray Gibson with 35lbs 1oz , 3rd John Carter with 18lbs 6oz and 4th Peter Green with 8lbs 15oz. Well done to all on a very tough day. In a tight finish Abbey Cross took the day with 62 points to Bishop's Stortford's 58.

Interclub (Saffron Walden) match/outing

Beggars Hall

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1st Gary Pickard 60lbs 11oz 2nd Peter Green 22lbs 8oz 3rd Phil Whitmill 18lbs 4oz 4th Mark Halverson 15lbs 8oz

Gary's day Half term and last minute commitments took their toll on SW's team so we decided to make it an individual match. True to form of late, as the draw neared so did the rain and it was a wet few first hours. At the draw I pulled out peg 17; a decent peg if you can land the fish you hook. With peg 18 staying in the draw bag I was in with a good chance. Swapping between a small method feeder and bomb and pellet towards the island saw odd small indications but only a few proper bites. By the half way point I had 4 fish in the net. Each played very carefully as it was clear it was not going to be a bagging day despite fish crashing out all day. At around 1 the lake came to life a bit with Peter getting a good fish on peg 12 which led him a merry dance on the pole between the 2 lily beds and John was into another on peg 4. I had a couple more on the method before all signs faded so it was on to the pole short. After wading through the perch I had a couple more carp down the edge to finish with 8 carp for just over 60lbs. 1st Gary Pickard 60lbs 11oz, 2nd Peter Green 22lbs 8oz (Peter added another good carp), 3rd Phil Whitmill 18lbs 4oz and 4th Mark Halverson 15lbs 8oz including a bream of around 3lbs.

Club match/outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

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1st John Carter 44lbs 9oz 2nd Bill Beeston 39lbs 9oz 3rd Ray Gibson 37lbs 4th Peter Green 31lbs 11oz

Phil's day Hi to all, the Weds Club fished Hall Farm Lake this week. It started off a dry day with the possibility of a shower so no surprises there when it tipped it down. I drew peg 16 on the high bank can't say much about the peg as its not in the matches that often. I decided on a feeder for half way across and two pole lines@ one at 7 secs; and the margins both sides very little difference in depths. Started off looking for silvers with red maggots and corn and in a very short time was pulling good roach and the odd perch then I hooked a carp on light gear and lost that. I carried on with this line until the silvers dried up then onto the feeder. I never got a touch so put it up the bank and that's where it stayed for the rest of the day. Went back on my long line but nothing so tried the margins and started catching the odd very small perch then, out the blue, a small carp of about a pound. After that things got better with another carp of 3 to 4 lb, unfortunately I missed the net and snapped off my rig so for a few moments a red mist got the better of me. Recomposed and with a new rig I tried my other margin and this proved much better and went on to weigh in 29lbs 11oz. 1st John Carter with 44lbs 9oz, 2nd Bill Beeston with 39lbs 9oz, 3rd Ray Gibson with 37lbs and 4th Peter Green with 31lbs 11oz. Overall the lake fished quite well considering the amount of cold water that's gone in the lake over the last week, well done to all. Today's photo has us busy setting up.

Club match/outing

Malcolm Barker Lake

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1st David Jones 3lbs 5oz 2nd Gary Pickard 2lbs 9oz 3rd Jeff Pearson 2lbs 7oz

Gary's day Today was going to be wet, very wet with the BBC forecast mentioning thunderstorms from 10 to 7. The first rain arrived early and we had a thunderstorm backed draw. Peg 3 was mine for the day; a decent peg but awkward to fish with a short high bank behind and a tree to the left. By the time the all-in whistle went the rain had already gone through my leggings and the fingers were looking a little prune like. As expected from the Weds match, MBL did not fish well. Bites were few and far between coming in little flurries as if the fish would not settle. A couple of tries with worm to try and tempt a bonus fish form the lily edges went without any signs so it was mostly a day on a small waggler just beyond pole range. To the right, on peg 2, I could see Mark getting the odd fish and Jeff on peg 27 had the net out a couple of times but Dave, on favoured peg 8, was hidden by the tree so an unknown. At the scales my 20 or so fish went 2lbs 9oz for second just pulling ahead of Jeff. 1st David Jones 3lbs 5oz (and his second win of the week on MBL), 2nd Gary Pickard 2lbs 9oz and 3rd Jeff Pearson 2lbs 7oz. Today's photo has the calm after the storms when we were packing up

Winter League match

Malcolm Barker Lake

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1st David Jones 5lbs 6oz 2nd Steve Foster 5lbs 3oz Jt 3rd Phil Whitmill 2lbs 5oz Jt 3rd Jeff Pearson 2lbs 5oz

Phil's day Hi all, I am glad we didn't start our day yesterday with this kind of morning. We fished our first of 6 matches in our winter league at the Malcolm Barker Lake. Rhe weather was kind and with odd spells of sun it made it pleasant. I drew peg 27 which has not been fishable for the best part of the year because of weed problems. I got to my peg and it looked clear of weed so got myself set up only to find it was quite bad still - so back to the car and got my weed rake out and begun to clear a spot where I could fish. This took up most of my setting up time but had to be done. The fishing started off very slow and got worse as the day went on I did manage to put a few in the net so at least I would have some points at the end of the day. In first place Dave Jones with 5lbs 6oz, 2nd Steve Foster with 5lbs 3oz, joint 3rd was Phil Whitmill and Jeff Pearson with 2lbs 5oz each , and as you can tell most pegs just didn't fish but there is always another day, well done to all.

Club match/outing

Home Farm small lake

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1st Gary Pickard 36lbs 5oz 2nd John Todd 31lbs 11oz 3rd Fred Hunt 28lbs 8oz 4th David Jones 22lbs 1oz including 5lbs 3oz of silvers.

Gary's day Today was a trip up to Home Farm near Saffron Walden and, after the last outing in Summer where Phil won with 150lbs, a big weight day was on my mind. This was my first trip back since the depths of winter. Out of the draw bag came peg 2 for me which I was pretty happy with but would have preferred Peg 1 (Phil's) or over the other side on 7 to 9 (Fred, Mark and Chris). As we were setting up fish were topping everywhere so a good day looked in order, however, it soon became apparent why. Hall Farm's lakes are not the deepest but on plumbing up I found I had around 20 inches everywhere - it was like a giant margin. Time for some adjusting of rigs!! I had a great start with a 2lb carp on pretty much the first put in on the long pole on pellet but then it went quiet. As the light was pretty bad, making the float difficult to see, and the BBC forecasting a bit of a breezy day (they were wrong it was flat calm for much of the day) I decided to come back a couple of sections. There then followed 3 infuriating hours where I could see fish were near my bait with the plumes of mud they were kicking up but even liners were a rarity. By the mid-way point I had 3 small carp and 2 foul hooked fish lost. All this time I could hear Fred and John getting into a few fish and my chances seemed to be over. With about 90 mins to go I decided it was margins or bust and, thankfully, they came good but foul hooking and hook pulls were a nightmare with 1 in 2 fish landed. Luckily I had some worms with me after doing a bit of gardening the day before (thank you Jane) and they were heavy enough to help stop some of the problems. At the all-out I finished with just over 36lbs in what was a tight finish with only a couple of fish making the difference. 1st Gary Pickard 36lbs 5oz, 2nd John Todd 31lbs 11oz, 3rd Fred Hunt 28lbs 8oz and 4th David Jones with 22lbs 1oz including 5lbs 3oz of silvers. Photo is Mark H with a bit of a surprise catch - sorry Mark no instant wins on a BSDAS match.

Club match/outing

Beggars Hall

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1st Terry Moranda 40lbs 12oz 2nd Jeff Pearson 38lbs 6oz 3rd Phil Whitmill 35lbs 5oz 4th Ray Gibson 17lbs 3oz

Phil's day Hi to all, the Weds club outing was on Beggars Hall lake today. It was going to be very hard for some as its just off a frost most mornings this week. I drew peg 17, a very good peg but not a cert as it has had a couple of blanks came this year. I made up the feeder for distance work by the island and two pole rigs for 10 meters and the left hand margin. Started off on the feeder with banded pellet not even a touch so tried corn and still nothing so on to my pole lines knowing it was still too early but nothing else was happening. I looked all over my two lines with corn and pellets to no avail so fell back on maggots to try and catch anything. I had my first bite - a roach about 4oz so continued along these lines for more rudd and roach about the same size. This went on for a couple hours and I amassed a whole 2lbs (guess weight). At 2ish I noticed a swirled in the margins indicating a big carp had moved in so on to my margin rig and 4 red maggots as hook bait. Over I went and 10 minutes later I landed a carp of 10lbs approx. I was starting to feel better about things now. Went on my 10 meter line and hooked 2 carp but lost them both as I was on a smaller hook. Then another swirl in the margin and another 10lb carp. I could hold my head up now in the car park. Then, at 3.15, having stayed in the margin another swirling but this one was a bit picky but he went for it, another carp about 14lbs and this has now put me in the frame 1st Terry Moranda with 40lbs 12oz, 2nd Jeff Pearson with 38lbs 6oz, 3rd Phil Whitmill with 35lbs 5oz and 4th Ray Gibson with 17lbs 3oz. A well done to all on a hard day.

Club match/outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

Ralph Jarvis Rose Bowl 2 of 2

1st Gary Pickard 51lbs 3oz 2nd David Jones 25lbs 10oz 3rd Terry Moranda 22lbs 10oz 4th Dave Knapp 12lbs 7oz. Gary won the Ralph Jarvis Rose Bowl with 2 points with Mark Halverson as runner up on 8 points.

Gary's day It was a chilly start today with the lake covered in a thick mist before the draw. Thankfully though the day quickly warmed up. At the draw bag it was time to test my luck with the car park end pegs being favourites. When David declared he had just drawn peg 2 the odds of a good draw dropped. In went the hand and out came peg 26 to much abuse - honestly I do draw iffy pegs. My day was going to be simple or so I thought - down the edge and hauling them in from the start. The water though was at least a metre down so the left margin was very shallow. An early start long on the pole with maggots saw a steady stream of good quality silvers including some of the chub introduced last year heading to the net. But the F1s were not showing up. A quick look down the edge did not get a sign. Time for a try on the feeder whilst I had a sandwich and re-think. A couple of F1s and not many signs meant it was time for a change. It was then a game of patience down the margin with paste to avoid the hoards of perch. Not many bites but they tended to be from decent sized carp so worth the wait On the far bank I kept seeing David netting a few good sized looking fish but the lake was fishing a bit tricky. At the all out I weighed just over 51lbs for a win. Today's photo is my very fishy looking margin. 1st Gary Pickard 51lbs 3oz, 2nd David Jones 25lbs 10oz, 3rd Terry Moranda 22lbs 10oz and 4th Dave Knapp with 12lbs 7oz. Gary won the Ralph Jarvis Rose Bowl with 2 points with Mark Halverson as runner up on 8 points.

Interclub (Abbey Cross) match/outing

Taylor's Lake (Abbey Cross water)

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Abbey Cross took the day with 83 points to Bishop's Stortford's 54 point 1st Alan Sims with 31lbs 10oz 2nd Martin Adams 26lbs 13oz 3rd Phil Whitmill 7lbs 6oz 4th Jeff Pearson 6lbs 9oz 5th Steve Foster 5lbs 9oz

Phil's day Good morning to all, the Weds club fished its monthly interclub match against Abbey Cross at their Taylors Lake. The weather was very windy which made holding a pole very difficult but at times it was manageable. I drew peg 30 not a good peg for me but being the end of summer I had lily pads to fish to instead of open water. Only made one pole line and stuck to it. With a feeder just in case the wind made it impossible to fish the pole. I started cupping in a bit of groundbait with some pellets and hemp and, after 40 odd mins, I started catching small roach and rudd. I tried other baits but kept going back to what I could get a bite on and figured if I can't get a carp I would go for the roach. This went on for most of the day then about 2ish I got an F1 about 4lb which really bumped up my weight. By the end of the day I weighed in 7lbs 6oz . Well done to all on a very difficult day, 1st Alan Sims with 31lbs 10oz, 2nd Martin Adams with 26lbs 13oz (including a carp of 17lbs 7oz), 3rd Phil Whitmill with 7lbs 6oz, 4th Jeff Pearson with 6lbs 9oz and 5th Steve Foster with 5lbs 9oz. Abbey Cross took the day with 83 points to Bishop's Stortford's 54 points. The photo today is the view from Peg 52 with John, Steve, Peter and Phil over on the far side.

Club match/outing

River Stort - Backwater

Lea and Stort Cup

Bishop's Stortford won the day with 11lbs 5oz to Sawbridgeworth's 8lbs 8oz 1st Steve Foster 3lbs 1oz 2nd Gary Pickard 2lbs 9oz 3rd David Jones 2lbs 8oz 4th Tony Cruci 2lbs 6oz

Gary's day It was a busy MBL car park today as we hosted Sawbridgeworth on the Stort Backwater. Thankfully the rain that was predicted all week for Sunday missed us and it was a warm and sunny day. Perhaps not the best for fishing but a lot better for us anglers. At the draw bag Tony pulled out the odd numbers for us and out came end peg 1 for me. I was a happy man. On arriving at the peg I could see the river had a little colour but next to no flow. I started off on bread punch but just could not get any signs. This was not good as it is normally a pretty instant bait. Finally I had the smallest of indications on a maggot and a little roach was in the net - at least not a blank. And so it went for the rest of the day - trying different parts of the peg and getting the odd fish but never more than a couple in the same place. I suspect there were a few pike moving around and Martin on Peg 4 had a run in with one near the end. By the end of the match my shoulders were feeling it - shipping 13m of pole for a half ounce (if I was lucky) roach was hard work. A very angry crayfish proved a bit of light relief half way through the day - it really did not want to let go of my maggot hookbait. At the the scales my mixed bag of bits and pieces went 2lbs 9oz for second - a bit of a surprise. Sorry David - pipped by a couple of ounces again. I can see next week at Hall Farm being a grudge match ;-). Picture today is my peg waiting for the scales. 1st Steve Foster 3lbs 1oz, 2nd Gary Pickard 2lbs 9oz, 3rd David Jones 2lbs 8oz and 4th Tony Cruci 2lbs 6oz. Bishop's Stortford won the day with 11lbs 5oz to Sawbridgeworth's 8lbs 8oz

Weds Club 2022 Summer League results

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Jt 1st Terry Moranda on 42 points Jt 1st Phil Whitmill 3rd Jeff Pearson on 34 points

Terry Moranda went into the last match with 2 points ahead of the pack and he drew a half decent peg on the final match. Phil just snuck a couple of points in the final match to end joint first with Terry Moranda. 3rd place went to Jeff Pearson who moaned and groaned he didn't stand a chance - you never know with fishing that's why we keep coming back😆 Jt 1st Terry Moranda on 42 points Jt 1st Phil Whitmill 3rd Jeff Pearson on 34 points

Summer League match

Malcolm Barker Lake

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1st John Carter 8lbs 5oz 2nd Phil Whitmill 3lbs 4oz 3rd Jeff Pearson 2lbs 13oz 4th John Todd 2lbs 9oz

Phil's day Good morning to all. The Weds Club fished its sixth and final match of the summer league at the Malcolm Barker Lake, we all knew it would be hard going because of the very cold nights, I drew peg 3, not too bad a peg. I only made up two rigs and left the feeder in the car. I made one line at 7 sections and a 2nd line as close as I could to the lily pads - one rig was a 16 match hook to 4lb line and my other rig was a 18 match hook to 3lb line. As predicted it was rock hard but I manage to winkle out a few roach and rudd for a weight of 3lb 4oz. First place was John Carter with 8lbs 5oz mainly tench, 2nd Phil Whitmill with 3lbs 4oz, 3rd place was Jeff Pearson with 2lbs 13oz and 4th place with 2lbs 9oz was John Todd. Well done to all on a very hard day. Thank you to Peter and Sally-Anne for their assistance on the day.

Club match/outing

Beggars Hall

MB Rose Bowl 2 of 2

1st John Todd 41lbs 2nd David Jones 40lbs 2oz 3rd Gary Pickard 31lbs 15oz Winner of Malcolm Barker Rose Bowl TBC

Gary's day We were back to Beggars Hall today for the second leg of the Malcolm Barker Rose Bowl. Autumn was well and truly with us and it was a chilly start - it was a while before the coat came off. At the draw bag there were 2 left when it was my turn - pegs 18 and 20 and the fingers were crossed for 18. It was not to be so off to 20. 20 is still a pretty good peg but can drive you mad as you see fish cruising along the far side on the other side of the power lines. Up went the pole with rigs for the edges and the lilies along with feeder and bomb rods. After a couple of hours first trying for a quick carp near the lilies and then trying the bomb and pellet line I had been feeding from the off I had nothing to show. Not even a liner to give some encouragement. It was time for a catch anything approach and I dug out a small cage feeder and tried a bit of worm. Half a dozen small perch later at least I had not blanked but I was going nowhere. Along the bank Phil had a carp and some bits off peg 19 and David had a carp and a bream on 18. With the long lines being a waste of time it was time to try closer in - another hour and a bit later and I was still biteless on the pole. Not even a float wobble in the edges. Then I spotted a carp roll towards the middle with an hour to go so picked up the feeder rod and cast roughly where it had been. Finally a bite and, after a gentle bit of playing, I had 1 in the net! After that it was like a switch had been flicked and I had 4 more but getting smaller and with bigger gaps. At the whistle I had just over 31lbs for 3rd. 1st John Todd 41lbs with 4 big carp and a few silvers, 2nd David Jones 40lbs 2oz including a bream of 4lbs 4oz and 3rd Gary Pickard 31lbs 15oz Today's photo is Mark with the 3 that did not get away. Winner of the Malcolm Barker Rose Bowl is TBC

Interclub (Saffron Walden) match/outing

Bordeaux Pits (Saffron Walden water)

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Saffron Walden won on the day with 102 points to Bishop's Stortford's 71. 1st James Gillard 5lbs 13oz 2nd Phil Whitmill 5lbs 2oz 3rd Steve Foster 4lbs 10oz 4th Peter Green 4lbs 5oz 5th Adam Salter 3lbs 13oz

Phil's day Hi to all, the Weds Club fished an interclub match with Saffron Walden on their lake this week. I arrived to find a good turn out of 19 anglers. I drew peg 26 - it's a good peg but very shallow with only 2ft of water but all the lakes are in the same state with low water. I only made up 2 pole rigs 1 in the margin and 1 at 8 meters. I fed hemp and maggots and micro pellets at 8 meters and corn down the margin with micro pellets. Started off at 8 meters as this was my deepest swim, I started off catching the odd roach and perch but they were very small but it's about points today. Then I hooked a couple of skimmers and better quality roach and rudd then hooked a carp which didn't count so that went back. I hooked 2 more carp that broke my hooklength. Things then went deadly quite for a long while then, out the blue, a bream of about 3lb after that nothing till the end of the match. I weighed in with 5lb 2oz, 1st James Gillard with 5lbs 13oz, 2nd Phil Whitmill with 5lbs 2oz, 3rd Steve Foster with 4lbs 10oz, 4th was Peter Green with 4lbs 5oz and 5th Adam Salter with 3lbs 13oz. It was a hard day but no blanks Saffron Walden won on the day with 102 points to Bishop's Stortford's 71.

Club match/outing

Beggars Hall

Stone Cup 2 of 2

1st Gary Pickard 104lbs 4oz 2nd Mark Halverson 34lbs 4oz 3rd Fred Hunt 26lbs 14oz 4th Peter Green 23lbs 4oz Mark takes the Stone Cup with 5 points just edging past Phil who ended with 6

Gary's day We had a late change of venue from Home Farm due to low water levels there so it was a repack of the kit the night before. Autumn is here and there was a colder edge to the wind at the draw but thankfully the rain held off. It was my lucky day and peg 18 came out of the draw bag - finally it was my turn to give this peg a go. Even I will admit this is a bit of flyer and I nearly ran to the peg. With flyers though come expectations so I knew I would never live down a poor result from here. With the colder week it was going to be an odd day: the carp either having gone very moody or decided to start packing on the weight for winter. In the end it was a bit of both. It was a slow start out in the middle with a few liners to encourage but not many turning into bites. By the half way point I had 5 carp in the net plus a couple lost, so doing OK but then I saw John and Peter opposite get a good fish each in quick succession. I had also heard Fred's subtle tones from the other end of the lake saying that Mark had a couple. Time for change as the bomb/feeder lines had faded. Maybe they had come shallow? The answer was no - 20 mins or so on the pellet waggler did not get me a sign. Time to try an early look down the edges. I started to the left and nothing. OK, not what I expected. Time for the right. And this time I had found a few. That was it for the rest of the day - odd fish from the right and wasting a bit of time trying the left whilst the right got a rest. I was glad that I tied up a couple of stronger rigs the night before with the change of venue as I had a few lumps that tested tackle and me - at times I was just holding on to the pole as the carp charged off towards the island. At the all out it was a day of 4s - 104lbs 4oz and a broken number 4 section as I managed to knock it whilst playing a big carp - still not sure how it broke. And my first 100lb match weight. Pic today is one of the bruisers that helped tick up the weight. 1st Gary Pickard 104lbs 4oz, 2nd Mark Halverson 34lbs 4oz, 3rd Fred Hunt 26lbs 14oz and 4th Peter Green 23lbs 4oz. Mark takes the Stone Cup with 5 points just edging past Phil who ended with 6.

Club match/outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

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1st John Carter 69lbs 14oz 2nd Jeff Pearson 61lbs 5oz 3rd Bill Beeston 52lbs 7oz 4th Tony Cruci 36lbs 12oz

Phil's day Good day to you all, the Weds Club fished its match at Hall Farm. The weather was very good after a night of rain, I drew peg 4 not a good peg for me but you got to get on with it and it has turned up some good weights this year. I fished the usual methods of pole and feeder but nothing was happening. I could see the new guy, John, was catching and Jeff, who was 2 pegs away from him, was doing OK so it was just my bank struggling. I tried different things throughout the morning then I got one on the pole which felt a largeish fish. I played it around in front of me then it happened - my power kit with fish attached became separated and I just sat there and watched as it disappeared in to the deeps. Just my luck £100 worth of kit never to be seen again or so I thought. I brought into action my backup power top and got and landed my first carp. I had a couple more on my right hand side before it died so turned round to my left hand side and got a couple down there. As I looked across the lake I could hear Terry shouting something - as I looked to the middle of the lake I could just see my power top sticking out the water by a foot. This was not going to stay like it for long so I walked to the empty peg opposite, stripped off down to my underpants and waded in. I didn't realise how deep the water was out there I just managed to get hold of it with the water level up to my upper chest and made my way back to dry land, towelled myself dry, rung out my pants and put my dry clothing on. What a relief and now back to why I am here. Went on to come 5th overall only to be beaten by 1lb to 4th. To cap the day off Terry, who shouted to me earlier in the day when my top kit resurfaced, was also stripped off to his pants and was wading in the lake. He had lost his power kit and, to make it worse for him, half his 3 section of his pole and that was never seen again. Results 1st John Carter with 69lbs 14oz, 2nd Jeff Pearson with 61lbs 5oz, 3rd Bill Beeston with 52lbs 7oz and 4th Tony Cruci with 36lbs 12oz. Well done to all. [Ed - you will pleased to know no photos from today's match!]

Canoe Club race 10:30am - 3pm

River Stort - Southmill to Twyford Locks

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Water booking

River Stort Backwater

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Interclub (Abbey Cross and Saffron Walden)

Colemans Cottage Fishery

Triple Cup

Cancelled due to issues finding a local water with sufficient capacity

Interclub (Abbey Cross) match/outing

Malcolm Barker Lake

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Abbey Cross won with 58 points to Bishop's Stortford's 49. 1st Martin Adams 101lbs 10oz 2nd Tony Cruci 34lbs 14oz 3rd Steve Foster 30lbs 3oz 4th Jeff Pearson 28lbs 12oz

Phil's day Hi all we fished the interclub match against Abbey Cross at Hall Farm today. The lake didn't fish as well as I had hoped but there was one exceptional weight from Martin Adams of a 101lbs 10oz but, apart from that, all the placings were below 40lb. I, like so many others, sat there waiting for a switch on in our pegs and when it did happen it lasted for only a very short while. Never mind at least there were no blanks. 1st was Martin Adams with 101lbs 10oz, 2nd Tony Cruci with 34lbs 14oz, 3rd Steve Foster with 30lbs 3oz and 4th Jeff Pearson with 28lbs 12oz. Well done to all you all did well considering the weather at times was awful. Abbey Cross won with 58 points to Bishop's Stortford's 49.

Interclub (Saffron Walden) match/outing

Bordeaux Pits (Saffron Walden water)

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Saffron Walden won with 89 points to our 48. 1st Roger Phillips 10lbs 2oz 2nd Stuart Bradford 10lbs 3rd Brian Mizon 8lbs 8oz

Gary's day Today was an away trip to Bordeaux Pits, one of Saffron Walden's waters. It was my second visit so I had a bit more idea of what it was like although they have been stocking some more silvers since my last visit. Peg 35, the beach peg, was my home for the day. As you can see from the photo it is on a point with my swims being in front and then pretty much behind me into a very inviting tree line. We were in a silvers match but with F1s and carp under 2lb also counting. With this in mind, a quick try in the corner for a bonus fish whilst priming the swim ahead was needed. Well there were some bonus fish in there but sadly well over the 2lb mark. I did though get 1 small F1 but there was no way I was getting through the big king carp (a new fish for me, long with an underslung mouth) to something smaller. So it was out on the long pole. The odd strong gust of wind made it interesting especially when the tiny, float wobbling bites I was getting made it seem like fishing for winter F1s. It was fun fishing though never knowing what the next fish would be with roach, rudd, perch, skimmers and hybrids turning up. A late try in the corner netted me a small tench and a common sadly about 1lb too heavy before the big carp arrived again. All in all a lot learned and looking forward to the next visit. The lake fished harder than expected with bonus F1s, tench and bream making all the difference. My fish went 7lbs 11oz and just out of the frame. 1st Roger Phillips 10lbs 2oz, 2nd Stuart Bradford 10lbs and 3rd Brian Mizon 8lbs 8oz. Saffron Walden won with 89 points to our 48. Many thanks for hosting us.

Club match/outing

Malcolm Barker Lake

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1st Tony Cruci 8lbs 4oz 2nd Steve Foster 6lbs 10oz 3rd Gary Pickard 4lbs 3oz 4th Jeff Pearson 3lbs 14oz.

Phil's day Morning to all, the Weds club fished Malcolm Barker Club Lake this week. It was going to be a hard day - this lake is not known for high weights. I hand picked, along with Terry Moranda, all the best pegs that were not overgrown with weed. I drew peg 20 not one of my favourites but it is what it is. I made up two pole lines and a feeder for distance fishing. I started off cupping in a small amount of groundbait and a bit of sweetcorn along with hemp and red maggots at 10 meters, the other line was by a very small group of lily pads this was a maggot line only for perch and anything that took a bait. As I suspected it was very hard going only managing the odd roach and rudd but I was catching. I ended my day with 2lb 12oz joint 6th and thanks for coming. 1st Tony Cruci with 8lbs 4oz, 2nd Steve Foster with 6lbs 10oz, 3rd Gary Pickard with 4lbs 3oz and 4th Jeff Pearson with 3lbs 14oz. Well done to all on a very hard day, the pic is the Malcolm Barker Lake (and a bit of Bill).

Club match/outing

Malcolm Barker Lake

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1st Gary Pickard 8lbs 1oz 2nd Jeff Pearson 7lbs 1oz 3rd Mark Halverson 5lbs 7oz.

Gary's day It was another sunny day at a very weedy MBL. We were a little down on numbers but at least that allowed us to pick out the more fishable swims. Peg 10 was to be my home for the day - when Mark said it was a bit weedy he was not joking - it looked like pea soup with all the greenery on the top. And dotted along its edge over on the far side of the lake were a steady stream of dark shapes moving. With all the weed between us and them they knew they were safe. The day was going to be pretty simple for me: I found a small area near the lilies where it looked like someone had cleared a patch; and then it was another small clear patch to my 2 o'clock. And that was it, anything other than a float was a waste of time given the amount of weed. I had a great start catching some nice rudd and roach of 3-4oz on the waggler and this kept going for a couple of hours but faded quickly once the sun was overhead. Apart from a brief encounter with one of the Lake's larger carp half-way through the match which proceeded to plough through about 10 m of weed beds before snagging me up it was a question of trying to keep the odd small fish coming to the net for the rest of the match. No sign of tench or bigger bream for me with just a couple of tench coming out - Mark also had a couple of run ins with the carp. At the net I had just over 8lbs of silvers - that is 8lbs more than my last visit to MBL in early spring when I could not get a bite! 1st Gary Pickard 8lbs 1oz, 2nd Jeff Pearson 7lbs 1oz and 3rd Mark Halverson 5lbs 7oz.

Charity match (Grove Cottage)

Hall Farm Large Lake

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1st Roger Phillips 67lbs 7oz 2nd Jeff Pearson 44lbs 4oz 3rd Peter Green 30lbs 8oz 4th Ken Rolfe 28lbs 5oz

Gary's day After a week away it was time to dust off the fishing tackle for a trip to Hall Farm. After a wet week and with a few people on the match we were all wondering how it would fish. Out of the draw bag came peg 22 for me - another grandstand view of pegs 2 and 3! It did though have a lovely bit of shade on what turned out quite a warm day. It was one of those days where the fish were high in the water and cruising all over but doing a very good job of just staying out of pole range and, when they came a bit closer, completely ignoring anything you dropped in front of them. It turned into a day of 3 parts: a couple of quick fish on paste; then a long slog though the middle with a few silvers; and a final flurry of a few more F1s and carp down the edge. But it was all too little too late with my 28lbs 12oz being pushed into 5th 1st Roger Phillips 67lbs 7oz, 2nd Jeff Pearson 44lbs 4oz, 3rd Peter Green 30lbs 8oz and 4th Ken Rolfe 28lbs 5oz. A big thank you to all - we raised £156 for Grove Cottage.

Interclub (Saffron Walden) match/outing

Beggars Hall

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Bishop's Stortford with 59 points to Saffron Walden's 46 points. 1st Peter Green 70lbs 3oz 2nd James Gillard 60lbs 9oz 3rd Tony Parker 48lbs 14oz 4th Roger Philips 36lbs 10oz 5th Peter Motram 23lbs 15oz

Phil's day Good morning to all, I woke up in the early hours this morning to the crashing of thunder and torrents of rain just glad it was this morning and not yesterday The Weds club fished a interclub match against Saffron Walden at our home water of Beggars Hall lake. It was going to be a bit tough because all but 4 pegs were in. I drew an odd peg it is normally reserved for the disabled anglers but as we close the lake down for interclub matches I put it in and I was 2nd to last in the draw bag my luck I got it peg 23. I made up 3 pole lines one at 7 meters and two down the margins and a feeder for distance work. The wind was blowing straight in my face and made any pole line over 7 or so meters almost impossible to fish so concentrated on the feeder and margins for the pole. After an hour or so on feeder with no bites I started to think about hooklength changes to the feeder with lighter lines and smaller hooks, so I started to make up a hooklength and the feeder has bent round with a common carp of about 5lbs. This has me thinking leave the set up alone as its working and within 15 mins had a perfect jet black mirror carp of 8oz. By this time its half 12 pm so had me a sandwich and a drink then onto my margins. Started off down on my right side for a few roach and rudd this went on for a hour nearly then I bumped a decent carp. I carried on with this line until I managed to hook one; a common of 7lb then tried the other margin for another carp - a mirror of about 8lb. By this time the match was over. I weighed in with 19lbs 8 oz and just outside the money. Bishop's Stortford won on the day with 59 points to 46 points with one more match against Saffron Walden next month on their water. 1st Peter Green with 70lbs 3oz, 2nd James Gillard with 60lbs 9oz, 3rd Tony Parker with 48lbs 14oz ,4th Roger Philips with 36lbs 10oz, 5th Peter Motram with 23lbs 15oz ,well done to all.

Club match/outing

Home Farm

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Waterside Fishing Festival

Hall Farm Small Lake

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Do have a look at the blog/news post on this

Do have a look at the blog/news post on this

Waterside Fishing Festival

Hall Farm Small Lake

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It was a very busy day - more info in the blog/news post

Do have a look at the blog/news post on this

Summer League match

Beggars Hall

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1st Darren Marder 82lbs 8oz 2nd Terry Moranda 39lbs 8oz 3rd Peter Green 38lbs 12oz 4th Ray Gibson 18lbs 6oz

Phil's day Hi all, the Weds club fished the 5th round of our summer league at Beggars Hall club lake. I drew peg 19 not a good peg for me but it is what it is. I made up 3 pole lines 1 at 10 meters and both margins and a pellet waggler for distance and if the fish are showing and, of course, a feeder. Started off on the feeder as the fish were keeping their heads down - stayed on this for a couple of hours but not a bite in sight so on to my 10 meter pole swim. This produced a small 8oz common carp then nothing. I noticed some movement in my margins so on to that. It was difficult to see because of the bushes overhanging the water but I finally hooked one just before the storm hit it was a nice mirror of about 8lbs. I then hooked another one but lost it - probably foul hooked. Then the storm hit I know I said I wanted some rain but not all at once wow. When it blew over the fish started to move in again but all too late had one more before the final whistle, not a blinding day but 2 good carp for 16lbs 8oz. First Darren Marder with 82lbs 8oz, 2nd Terry Moranda with 39lbs 8oz, 3rd Peter Green with 38lbs 12oz and,4th Ray Gibson with 18lbs 6oz well done to all. Photo is a rather soggy Phil.

Club match/outing

Hall Farm Small Lake

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1st Mark Halverson 31lbs 6oz 2nd Gary Pickard 12lbs 3oz 3rd Fred Hunt 9lbs 8oz

Gary's day A bit of a random one today with a test fish on the Small Lake to see if it could be used with the large lake to host the triple cup. It was hot! Most of us started with a bit of shade but it quickly disappeared - the odd breeze did though help take some of the edge off. Peg 18 was my home for the day and I was pretty happy with it being in one of the corners - as it turned out the wrong corner though. I had a couple of small carp and crucians along the edges to start but then it went quiet. With the lake holding lots of small fish I had brought some maggots along and had been feeding a few whilst trying closer in. It soon became clear that maggots were the wrong choice as the long line filled with small roach and rudd. Even with a whip I was going nowhere quick when the roach were an ounce a piece or less. So it was back in close and a long slog trying paste and corn but having to keep moving once the ravenous hoards of micro roach found where I was fishing. There was the odd carp cruising around but they managed to stay just out of range with the pole and showed no signs of feeding. Trying to fish for them was not pleasant with the pole being too hot to hold. In the other corner Mark was having a very different day and finished with a tidy net of mostly carp caught long on paste. 1st Mark Halverson 31lbs 6oz, 2nd Gary Pickard 12lbs 3oz and 3rd Fred Hunt 9lbs 8oz Today's photo has Fred ready for the all in with Jeff just visible over to the left. I don't think Fred was expecting to need 4 nets!

Club match/outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

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1st Phil Whitmill 77lbs 15oz 2nd Fred Hunt 58lbs 12oz 3rd Tony Parker 56lbs 10oz 4th Peter Green 53lbs 12oz

Phil's day Good day to all, the Weds club fished Hall Farm club lake. It was an extremely hot day but the turn-out was good. I drew peg 24, not a bad peg and I was in with a chance of framing from it. Made up 3 pole lines and a pellet waggler and, of course, a feeder as backup. I fed mainly 6mm pellets with a handful of corn on all my pole lines, on the waggler it was 6mm banded pellet and the same for the feeder with a pellet method feeder. I started off on pellet wag but the carp just didn't want to know so with over a hour wasted fell back on my feeder. Got my first carp on but it took me into a weed bank and snapped my hooklength after this happen 4 more times I upped my hooklength strength to combat the weed banks, This worked for a few fish then died a death, so onto my pole lines. Started on bread but nothing seemed interested so onto paste - this brought on instant bites so stayed on this till that died so back on bread got a couple and they were a better stamp of fish then ended up on 6mm pellet to finish the day. I weighed in at 77lb 15oz nice. In first place Phil Whitmill with 77lbs 15oz, 2nd Fred Hunt with 58lbs 12oz, in 3rd place was Tony Parker with 56lbs 10oz and 4th place Peter Green with 53lbs 12oz. Well done to all as it was a uncomfortable day heat wise, pic is of Jeff and tell from way back

Club match/outing

Beggars Hall

MB Rose Bowl 1 of 2

1st Gary Pickard 65lbs 2nd David Jones 33lbs 12oz 3rd Mark Halverson 24lbs 7oz

Gary's day It was another hot and sunny day at Beggars Hall but this time around it was going to be a lot less windy - ideal conditions for pellet waggler. After a lot of debate before the draw we decided to fish the dam bank including peg 21 which is a real soul breaker - lots of fish but a nightmare to get them out. Thankfully I pulled out peg 16 with Tony being stuck with 21. Having fished this a couple of matches back I had a pretty good idea of what I was going to do but since then the water has really dropped and most of us ended up fishing below the usual platforms. With it being so hot I had been expecting to see fish cruising all over but it was strangely calm with just a few bubbles popping up to let you know something was nearby. I started off on bomb and pellet having seen the bubbles but had nothing to show but a couple of small liners after 30 mins - it was not going to plan. It was time for the pellet wag. It turned out to be a long and hot day but the odd carp showed up in the feed and I managed to tempt a few more by casting at them. The pole was in the rod bag and I was tempted to give it a go as the fish were spooking off the pellet wag but decided against it as every fish I hooked decided it either wanted to charge off to the island or go visit Phil on peg 16. I ended the day with 9 carp for 65lbs dead including a real unit of around 14lbs. 1st Gary Pickard 65lbs, 2nd David Jones 33lbs 12oz and 3rd Mark Halverson 24lbs 7oz. Today's photo is Mark showing why you don't need many fish to break 20lbs.

Interclub (Abbey Cross) match/outing

Green Lanes Nazeing (Abbey Cross water)

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Abbey Cross won with 72 points to Bishop's Stortford's 57 1st Terry Moranda 65lbs 3oz 2nd Peter Green 63lbs 12 oz 3rd Ray Gibson 46lbs 2oz 4th Tony Parker 45lbs 15oz 5th Jeff Pearson 44lbs 2 oz

Phil's day Morning to all on this lovely hot day, the Weds club held its monthly interclub match against Abbey Cross at their lake in Nazeing. A nice venue, very large and plenty of character. I drew peg 14 . I have only fished this lake 3 other times so didn't know what to expect. I got to the peg and it had plenty of room between the trees. It's mainly feeder and pellet waggler - I didn't take a pole because of the size of the carp. I had 3 lines of attack: a pellet waggler at 20 meters; and then 2 alternative lines for my feeder. Needless to say my lack of knowledge of this venue showed through - I had three bites and only landed 1 a mirror carp of 11lbs 12 thus ended my 4th lesson on this lake. 1st place Terry Moranda with 65lbs 3oz, 2nd Peter Green with 63lbs 12 oz, 3rd Ray Gibson with 46lbs 2oz, 4th Tony Parker with 45lb 15oz and 5th Jeff Pearson with 44lbs 2 oz. A very well done to all the competitors, Abbey Cross won with 72 points to the 57 points of Bishop's Stortford

Interclub (Saffron Walden) match/outing

Hall Farm Large Lake

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Saffron Walden won the day with 79 points to Bishop's Stortford's 91. 1st Roger Phillips 51lbs 5oz 2nd Gary Pickard 31lbs 6oz 3rd James Gillard 20lbs 15oz 4th Dave Knapp 19lbs 2oz 5th Ray Gibson 18lbs 15oz

Gary's day Today was the second interclub match of the week against Saffron Walden and we were 1 down. We had a good turn out on both sides so the lake was going to be pretty full. With it being breezy I fancied a draw with the high bank behind me for a bit of shelter. The draw bag gods smiled and out came peg 23, the cruel twist being it gave me a front seat view of flyer pegs 1 and 2. I got off to a good(ish) start, a quick bite but foulhooked and falling off - early nerves got the better of me and I should have waited for the classic sail-away paste bite and not struck at an F1 style twitch. A couple did go in the net over the first hour once I remembered to wait for a proper bite but it was slow going and I was not alone. It was a case of chopping and changing and a mid-match change to trying to catch anything that swam care of some rather old dead maggots from the bottom of the freezer paid off. At the weigh in I was surprised to tip 31lbs 6oz on the scales helped with some lovely roach and rudd. And even more surprised to pick up second behind peg 1. 1st Roger Phillips 51lbs 5oz, 2nd Gary Pickard 31lbs 6oz, 3rd James Gillard 20lbs 15oz, 4th Dave Knapp 19lbs 2oz and 5th Ray Gibson 18lbs 15oz. It was a tight match with a fish or 2 either way making all the difference - Saffron Walden won the day with 79 points to Bishop's Stortford's 91. Today's photo has us ready for the all in with flyer pegs 1 and 2 over on the right.

Club match match/outing

Beggars Hall

His 'n' Hers Cup

Interclub (Saffron Walden) match/outing

Bordeaux Pits (Saffron Walden water)

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Saffron Walden won with 75 points to Bishop's Stortford's 61 points. 1st Fred Hunt 12lbs 10oz 2nd Peter Green 8lbs 13oz 3rd James Gillard 8lbs 3oz 4th Tony Cruci 6lbs 7oz 5th Mark Evans 5lbs 12oz

Phil's day Good morning to all, the Weds club held its interclub match against Saffron Walden club on their water. It was a silver fish match with F1s counting but no king carp. I drew peg 7 and had done very badly on this peg before with only 4 oz so I was a little surprised when I got there. The area had changed quite a bit and all the lily pads were gone - just bare water. I got given some advice as to where I should fish from Fred who drew next peg away. The word was raised the match had started (seemed funny no whistle) I went out to my 10 meter line and cupped in some loose groundbait with corn and micro pellets and a half handful of hemp and a margin line to a wire cage with red maggots. Started off on my 10 meter line and hooked into a proper carp within a minute - glad to say lost that as it wouldn't have counted. I put on a new hooklength and started again. Within a few minutes lost a decent skimmer and this went on for 3 more fish lost. I then started to hook and hold onto some skimmers. With the 1 F1 of 8oz all the rest were skimmers and roach to weigh in 5lb 8oz. For the end I blew my whistle to finish the match 1st place Fred Hunt with 12lbs 10oz, 2nd Peter Green with 8lbs 13oz, 3rd James Gillard with 8lbs 3oz, 4th Tony Cruci with 6lbs 7oz and 5th Mark Evans with 5lbs 12oz. Bishop's Stortford lost 61 points to Saffron Walden's 75 points highest points win,

Club match/outing

Beggars Hall

Ralph Jarvis Rose Bowl 1 of 2

1st Gary Pickard 69lbs 8oz 2nd Fred Hunt 67lbs 4oz 3rd Mark Halverson 33lbs 12oz

Gary's day It was another hot day in the sun but this time with a stiff breeze to keep the edge off. With a just a few of us today we decided to fish down the dam bank as the pegs are all pretty good. It was Peg 20 for me today - it has a lovely looking bed of lilies but the carp know exactly where to go if you hook them a bit too close to it. I decided to try and fish away from the lilies if I could given the nightmare Mark had on our last match at Beggar's. I managed an ice breaking carp after about 30 mins on the feeder and from them on it was a steady day. There were no sudden flurries of fish but there were enough liners to let me know a few were in the area. I gave the pellet waggler a try every now and again but it was just a bit too windy to get decent presentation although I am sure I kept seeing the odd dark shape hovering around where I was feeding some 8mms. With swapping between bomb and pellet and a method feeder I ended up with 11 carp with not too many lost - yes 1 did get into the lilies. I could hear Tony on peg 19 was not having a great day with fish coming off - the air was getting bluer by the minute. I ended up with 69lbs 8oz just pipping Fred who had 67lbs - and that was 7 fish. Mark also had a couple of 4lb bream. Today's photo has Phil taking a catch shot for Fred with Tony in the middle.

Summer League match

Hall Farm Large Lake

N/A

1st Tony Cruci 83lbs 8oz 2nd Bill Beeston 81lbs 8oz 3rd Tony Parker 74lbs 14oz 4th Phil Whitmill 64lbs 8oz

Phil's day Hi all, it was our 4th round of the summer league at Hall Farm with the Weds club. I drew peg 18 - it's been hit or miss down that end of the lake so I was hoping the hot weather had got the fish on the move. I set up a pellet wag and a feeder but my main hopes lay with the pole. Made up 3 lines one at 10 meters and both margins - that's where I expected to do most of my fishing. I had only a limited selection of bait bread, corn and pellet. At different stages of the day tried all of them. On the corn got pestered by rudd and roach same for everything else - I was using bread the size of a 2 pence coin and the small fish just wouldn't let it go down so made up a sacrificial line and fed the small stuff. This worked as I weighed in 64lbs 8 oz. 1st Tony Cruci from peg 8 with 83lbs 8oz, 2nd Bill Beeston on peg 26 with 81lbs 8oz, 3rd was Tony Parker peg 2 with 74lbs 14oz and 4th Phil Whitmill on peg 18 with 64lbs 8oz. Happy to report no blanks and all anglers had double figures.

Club match/outing

Home Farm

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Cancelled due to heatwave

Charity match (British Heart Foundation)

Hall Farm Large Lake

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Cancelled due to heatwave